Only If For A Night
by thehumanipod
Summary: Stephen wasn't big on PDA. Little steps that Stephen and Rory take in their relationship. Not sure how many spoilers there might be. This is after the series when Stephen comes back (because I'm convinced he will.) Mainly writing this because I need more Story in my life, but there are also some Boo/Callum moments. I hope you enjoy.
1. Cuddling

Cuddling

Stephen was definitely not the hand holding type. I could tell that any PDA wouldn't really be his thing. Stephen is serious, all about business. Stephen is Stephen. But he did put his arm on my waist, sometimes, or his hand on my arm. He'd brush past me or lean in closer to me more often than necessary. I noticed these things. I'd taught myself to become more observant in the Time We Do Not Speak About. He tried to be affectionate. Tonight, when I awoke with a jump, he wasn't any different.

"Rory?" He was sitting next to me, a book in his hand.

I sat up, rubbing my face. "Ugh," I mumbled as he looked me over. I'd fallen asleep on the not-so-comfortable couch without taking my make-up off. I must have only gotten about two hours of sleep before my nightmares woke me. Stephen put his hand on my arm. "You should have woken me up," I said groggily.

"I didn't want to disturb you. I wasn't sure if you'd go back to sleep." I couldn't see his eyes from the way the lamp's light reflected in his glasses, but I was sure he was looking at me anxiously. He knew I hadn't been sleeping well lately. Stephen stood, closing his book and holding out his hand to me. "Here, you get ready for bed, and I'll make us some tea." I took his hand and brought myself up off the couch. As we walked to the bedroom, I felt him squeeze it.

"Don't worry about the tea," I said. "Just stay here for a little while." He nodded and sat on the edge of the bed as I gathered up some clothes and stepped into the bathroom. I actually didn't care if I changed in front of Stephen, if I was honest. He probably wouldn't gawk at me like other guys would; Stephen was too mature for that. On the other hand, I wasn't sure he'd be completely thrilled at the thought. I was still pretty self-conscious about my scar and, even though I'd shaved yesterday, I still found myself worrying that I should shave again. I turned the sink tap off, wiped my face, and placed my toothbrush back in its spot. When I opened the door, I found Stephen in the same spot on the bed, reading his book again. I smiled a little, and threw my clothes into the pile on the floor.

"Is it interesting?" I asked as I walked around him to my side of the bed. Let me clear something up: Stephen and I hadn't slept together. I just always slept on a certain side of the bed in case he wanted to, an invitation. He sometimes slept on the floor, but he usually slept on the couch in the front room, insisting I take the bed. I did not understand this at all. We were technically living together, even if we did have a few roommates (who seemed to have no problem sleeping together.) I chalked it all up to Stephen being the polite, gentlemanly idiot that he is sometimes.

"It is," he said as he closed the book again. I knelt forward and kissed his cheek lightly. "Are you alright?" He asked, pressing me down gently and pulling the covers over me.

"Yeah," I replied. "I'm good. I'm just a little sleep-deprived."

"That's what I mean. What's happening? Why do you keep waking up?"

I shrugged. "They're just dreams. They'll stop."

"What if they don't, Rory? What are they about?" He scooted back a bit more, a little closer to me.

"Nothing, nothing. Everything's alright, just... just stay with me for a little while tonight, okay?" Stephen sighed, but nodded and slid back enough to rest his back against the head-board. He opened his book once more. I guess he thought he'd read until I fell asleep, then would go back to the sofa. Nope.

I turned on my side to face him. He didn't say anything. I wrapped my arms around his middle, resting my head on his chest. "Rory," he said, almost like a warning. Almost.

"Hm?" I hummed in what I thought sounded like my sleepiest voice. I felt him sigh, felt the way his chest moved as he took in the air, and then felt his hand on my head, his fingers in my hair. I smiled with my eyes closed, and snuggled into him. I was nearly asleep when he moved. I hugged him tighter.

"I'm not going anywhere," he assured me quietly. "I'm just putting my book down." I loosened my grip on him and heard the muffled thump of his book and rattle of his glasses as he placed both on the side-table. I heard a click as the lamp turned off and the yellow glow coming through my eyelids was extinguished. The bed moved with him as he pulled the covers from beneath him and laid next to me. His breathing began to slow. I scooted closer to him once again, putting my hand on his hip. His arm wrapped itself around me, pulling me close, bringing me in. I kissed his jaw, he kissed my forehead, and I let the leisurely rhythm of his breathing lull me to sleep. It was the best sleep I'd had in days.

AN: My other story, Enough to Smile, will be updated soon for anyone who reads it. I'm hoping to continue with this story, but I am incredibly busy and if I feel like there isn't anyone enjoying it, I'll probably give it up. Shades of London is my favorite series thus far. I hope I'm doing it justice. Please review and I'll try to update soon!


	2. Impressive

Impressive

I groaned and bent over when I reached the door. It had been a long day, and I'd had to exterminate a ghost or two. That, of course, wasn't the worst feeling in the world anymore. It just made me feel guilty. And at the moment, my emotions were magnified about ten times so I kind of wanted to cry. I hoped maybe Boo would be around to understand. "Hello?" I said out loud as I walked into the apartment.

"Hi," Stephen's voice replied from the kitchen. "Where've you been?"

"I was just with Callum," I said taking off a few of my layers and laying them on the back of the couch. "He's been having trouble with a few ghosts lately, and he's been annoying as hell about it, so I took care of it."

I heard him sigh. "I'm making tea," he informed me.

"Thank the _lord_," I replied.

"Are you feeling alright?" He asked in a bewildered tone. No, in fact, I was not. In response I flopped onto the couch, then sat with such poor posture, I slid slowly onto the floor, groaning the whole way down. "Rory?" His voice sounded closer. I heard him laugh quietly as I mumbled into the carpet. "Why're you on the floor?"

"I like the floor. The floor is my friend," I told him, turning my head to look up at him. His lips twitched slightly before he put our mugs down. Stephen scooped me up and laid me back down on the couch.

"What is wrong?"

I did not want to talk to him about this. We had not been dating long enough, we'd hardly been dating at all. But he was waiting for the answer, the real answer. Why should I be ashamed? "Girl... stuff. I'm on my period, my hormones are all out of whack. Just ignore me this week, that's probably the best thing you can do."

Stephen seemed to shut down completely. His body froze for a moment, his stare blanker than I'd ever seen it. Then he stood up, got his keys and scarf, and walked out. "Thank you," I said sarcastically when the door had shut. Because this was definitely the way for him to respond. Girlfriend on her period? Run away! Leave her alone to suffer. Real gentlemanly. I guess I had expected more from Stephen. Lesson learned: don't expect anything from a male when the vagina is committing suicide.

I seriously needed some kind of pain killer, but I was also in too much pain to actually get up and look for one. I actually groaned at the thought. I figured maybe some heat might soothe the pain. I took my laptop from the coffee table and set it on my lower abdomen, my scar peeking out just above it. It did help, actually. Thank whoever for laptops with warm undersides. I decided to do some more research about the case Stephen and I were working on, which I actually hadn't really gotten around to looking at at all. I opened the e-mail that Stephen sent with all the facts in the simplest and briefest forms he could have possibly arranged them.

"A young woman (34) marries one of England's eldest and wealthiest bachelors (66)." Okay, so gold-digger. "Claims she loves him entirely." Definitely a gold-digger. "Recently, the couple has been receiving disturbances during the night. When they wake and look around the house for what causes it, they see no one. A neighbor (23) says otherwise. She claims that when she came to the house to see what was happening, she saw a man of about thirty through the window. He was not in any uniform, so we do not believe him to be an officer. He appeared angry at our client, seemed to be yelling angrily although our witness could not hear what he was saying."

I was looking up all these people at first, but somehow I ended up reading an article about slut-shaming. I was pretty sure I needed to get off the computer. Luckily, a key in the lock told me that somebody was home. "Boo?" I said hopefully.

I sat up to see Stephen coming back in carrying a lot of paper bags. "Hey," he said.

"Oh," I said, putting my laptop back on the coffee table and standing to help him. He waved me back down as best as he could. "Hey. Where have you been? You kind of bolted."

"Sorry. I went shopping. We needed groceries anyway, but I got you some stuff." He set most of the bags down in the kitchen, but came in and sat next to me, rifling through one of them. "Here. I got you brownies," he said, taking out the container of chocolatey delicious squares to prove his point, "And some pain-killers. Oh, and-" He took out a blue box and put it next to my laptop. "I didn't know what brand you needed or what-"

"Oh my god," I laughed. I was smiling at him and shaking my head. His expression didn't change, but he seemed a bit more bashful than he had when he first walked in. "Stephen, what the hell?" He shrugged his shoulders and watched me break down. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. No, this is fantastic, thank you. You are incredible." I pulled him toward me and pressed my lips to his. Stephen relaxed and leaned into the kiss, his hand meeting mine on his cheek. I kissed him lightly one more time and leaned back on the arm of the couch. "How did you know what to do?"

Stephen pulled my legs across his lap and slipped my shoes and socks off. "I _did_ have a sister," he said matter-of-factly.

"I know, but I wasn't sure how much time you actually spent with her while it was her time of month or anything like that. That's not the first question that pops into my head. Personally, if I had any siblings, I probably wouldn't have let them near me. They'd be too annoying."

He shrugged and started kneading my heel. "She'd make me do stuff for her. I'd go get her basically what I got you, that's how I figured what to get."

I opened the container of brownies and waved one at him. "You are such a cliché right now, do you know that?"

"How do you mean?" He asked, his thumb sliding up the arch of my foot.

"You brought me brownies and tampons, you're rubbing my feet! You're acting like some stereotypical boyfriend straight out of some kind of movie." I took a bite out of my brownie and held it out to him. "Want some?" He leaned closer and bit a tiny piece off.

"I'm just trying to make sure you're comfortable. Do you have any thoughts on the case we've been assigned?"

"Yep. Our victim is leeching money from her husband. How long have they been married?" I stuffed the remnants of the brownie into my mouth and brushed any crumbs off my shirt.

"About a month. They've known each other for about two. Our job isn't to judge these people's relationship, though. We're only here to protect them from what they can't see. If this turns out to be a malevolent spirit, they'll need our help."

I nodded and tried to get crumbs out of my bra. "You can stop, you know." I slid my feet out of his hands and stretched out my legs. Stephen put his hand just above the waistband of my jeans. The touch of his skin against mine made me feel mushy. "Could... would you mind just-" I put my hand on top of his and slid it just under my jeans until it pressed lightly on my lower abdomen. "Just rub right there for a little while?"

"Yes, of course." I sighed and closed my eyes as he relieved some of the pain I was feeling.

"You're nice. You're a nice boyfriend."

I guess I must have fallen asleep. I woke up to Boo hovering over me, tapping my forehead. "What are you doing?" hissed Stephen. "You'll wake her up."

"Yeah, if I don't now, she'll never sleep through the night."

"You sound like my mom," I mumbled. "When did you get here?"

"Just now. I was wondering if you wanted Chinese for dinner?"

"_Yes_," I replied. I sat up and tied my hair back. Usually when I first wake up, especially after a nap, I'm groggy and slow for at least half an hour, even more so when I'm on my period. But someone says something about Chinese food, and I'm up like that.

"Great, I'll go call that in. The regular?"

"What else? I'm gonna go take a shower while we wait."

"Alright," Boo said, already on her phone.

I leaned over and kissed Stephen. "Thank you for being amazingly, perfectly understanding."

He kissed me quickly back. "You're welcome." I smiled at him before heading off to the bathroom. Somehow, brilliantly intelligent Stephen took my worst week and turned it into something not so bad. I'm not sure if he realized it, but I was definitely in love with Stephen Dene.

AN: Hi! I hope you're liking the story so far. Haha. Get it? Story! (I'm sorry. I'm kind of going insane waiting for all of these cliff-hangers to be resolved.) Aaaaanyway, like I said, I hope you are enjoying yourselves. I apologize if this chapter makes you feel in anyway awkward. Its just that periods are seldom talked about in stories and I'd like to make mine as realistic as possible. So, yes, periods. Plus, they talked about periods in The Name of the Star, so I felt in no way ashamed of talking about it here. Why not? We're all friends here. I have so much more planned for the Shades, maybe even a few OCs? I would like to point out something: I am American, not British. I actually live in Louisiana and this is why I feel a closer connection to Rory than some other characters I read about. So you might get a few more Louisiana things than British things that are actually correct. I am very sorry. Please please please! Review! Reviews are motivation. I'm really busy so if I see that people are liking this I'll be more likely to keep up with this. Also, read my other two fics if you'd like. And if you'd like to, you can give me ideas for this story or my others and I will give you credit for them. Stay lovely, friends.


	3. Words

Words

"He just seems angry when he's around her," I was telling Stephen, who sat across from me. The room was mostly dark except for the glow of both of our laptops. Stephen's computer screen was reflected in his glasses, showing me the files he was going through.

"The thing is," he replied, "Is that he's always around her. He seems connected to her somehow. He follows her like she's the only thing he has to hold onto. This man, whoever he is, is haunting her."

"Hm, that sounds somewhat familiar," I teased, a smirk forming on my lips. Stephen looked at me tiredly, though I could not see his eyes very well. Still, I noticed a slight curve at the corner of his mouth. He knew I was just poking fun at him. For some reason, the way he was looking at me, I guessed, my heart started beating at a faster pace. I told it to shut up and leave me alone. "Except he doesn't seem as friendly. What could she have done to make him so angry?"

Stephen shrugged. "We have to be careful with him. He's obviously pretty powerful if he can make 911 calls. Lets just hope he doesn't start reaching for any weapons."

"Has she been married before?" I asked. Stephen paused. "We've only been looking at her from her newly married name, and from her maiden name, but we haven't looked at her under any other names."

He stared me down for a moment, the crease between his eyebrows more noticeable than usual, and finally he started typing something again. The reflection of the screen showed that new files were cropping up. Stephen clicked a few things, his lips parting as he skimmed through the basic details. Then he did something completely unexpected.

"I love you," he said. He said it. He said the thing. That thing that you say when things in the relationship are legit. I was a deer caught in the headlights. I tried to reason it out, that he'd only said it because I'd help him make a new break in the case, because I'd done something brilliant and that he was only saying it as more of a thank you than the real thing. But then his lips were pursed, and I realized that he was looking at me, despite the light hiding his eyes. I still wasn't sure if he'd meant to come out with it the way he did, when he did, but I was pretty sure that he meant what he said. He loved me.

I didn't know what to do. I was so caught by my shock and his stare and my throat closing, killing the words that rested there. Thankfully, the kettle, which Stephen had put on while we worked, decided to go off at that point. I quickly stood up and went to the kitchen to pour Stephen some tea and to buy myself some time. He told me he loved me, and I knew exactly how he liked his tea, and I figured this was who we were. Then I told myself to stop trying to define the relationship. If its love, it doesn't need a definition. That's what my grandma told me, what my mom repeated.

I chewed my lip as I walked back into the room and set his cup down in front of him. He wouldn't look at me, his eyes determinately set on his computer screen. "Stephen?" He hesitated, and finally turned away from his computer to look at me. I could see his eyes again. I didn't see everything I needed to know in them; there was still some mystery behind them, but I saw enough. I reached my hand out, taking his chin between my thumb and pointer finger, and leaned in. I kissed him for a moment, swiping my tongue over his lip, and pulled away to look at those eyes again. "I love you, too." I didn't wait for his reaction, I just kissed him again. And he kissed me back. I somehow ended up sitting across his lap, with his arms wrapped around me holding me together so I didn't just explode or turn into a puddle on the floor. I felt like I might do one of those two things or maybe something in between.

For the first time, my mind raced while I kissed him. Usually when I kissed someone, my mind would go completely blank. I had convinced myself that kissing Stephen somehow transferred his way of thinking to my brain, so instead of going brain-dead, I was incredibly philosophical. I wondered exactly what he loved about me and why he did and how he knew, but I figured it was pretty much the same way I knew I loved him, and I was pretty okay with that. I was also okay with letting him kiss me like this forever. Forget about the assignment, Stephen Dene was in love with me. If you'd told me a year ago that I would be here, straddling Stephen, I would have asked you what planet you lived on.

Stephen and I were still like this when Callum and Boo walked through the door. "Oh, gross," Callum said, though we both ignored him. "You know, we brought you dinner, but you two seem to be fine _eating each other's faces_." I broke away from Stephen, sliding off his lap. I heard him make a quiet, disgruntled noise in the back of his throat.

"Callum, leave them alone. Besides, that means you won." I heard Boo opening and closing the fridge. She walked back into the room and placed money in Callum's hand. Behind me, Stephen began to type again.

"Thank you," he said, putting the money in his pocket. "We can go out again tomorrow night, if you want to." Boo giggled.

"Excuse me, wait," I interrupted. "You bet on us? Again?"

"Of course. I figured you two would be using our night out to your advantage, and look at that. I was right." Callum swelled proudly. I shook my head, not attempting to hold back a chuckle. Stephen caught my hand in his and pulled me back down on his lap. I rested my head against his shoulder, pressing my lips to his neck as he continued to type something. "Get a room, you two," Callum said. "Oh wait. You have one."

"That sounds like a good idea, actually," Stephen said to me, a smile on his face. "Should we call it a night?"

"Definitely, yes," I replied.

"Okay, just one moment." He stored some things away, closing his laptop, then mine. I stood and walked into our room, Stephen following behind me.

"Good night, you two," Callum laughed, Boo laughing with him.

"Good night!" I said before Stephen shut the door all the way.

"Those two need to shag and get it over with already so they can stop bothering us," Stephen mumbled, earning a laugh from me.

"Well, we could do it for them," I said. His eyes widened, but he smirked when he caught my smug expression.

"You're going to pay for that. You know that, right?"

"Prove it," I teased. Then both of us were a bit too busy to talk anymore.

Good night, indeed.

AN: Hey guys! I have a field trip tomorrow which means I really didn't have to do my homework so I decided to type up this quick chapter. I've had this idea for a while. Now I'm going to answer a question asked by Ashley: How long after the books is your story set? Like a few months or a year or two? Answer: This is spanning over a long period of time. I have a lot of ideas for their futures so it all depends. I figure if Stephen comes back, he's going to be a ghost for about 3 months- a year. This is, of course, after he's been brought back and they've gotten rid of Jane and her freaky cult. I picture Rory as at least nineteen now. Now I'm going to tell you a little story: I was so confused of who Rory was supposed to be with in The Name of the Star. I was like "is she gonna be with Jerome, oh wait now there's this Alistair guy, oh but Stephen seems like a candidate, she keeps talking about how young he is, wait now she's macking on Jerome, oh Alistair is dead, okay so her and Jerome, wait this still doesn't feel right" so I tried to settle with her being with Jerome but then Stephen picked her up from the dance and I was like "she's in a sports bra. she is in a sports bra and she is in his car and now they're at the apartment alone together and he won't look at her why won't he look at her" but I was like no she's still making out with Jerome. Then finally it was ripper night and Stephen told her what really happened and I was like "oh crap he's in love with her and he saw her kiss Jerome but she even felt bad wait they might they might." I finally came to the full conclusion that I really shipped Story when Rory was trying to reverse the effects of the insulin and I was just like "kiss, kiss, KISS." There you go, that's the story. SO please keep reviewing, I'm really grateful for what you guys are saying. Thank you, thank you! Okay, see you later my lovelies!


	4. Care-taker, Boyfriend, and Alive

Care-taker, Boyfriend, and Altogether Reckless Human

Rory was resting in bed, or at least she should be. I had suggested she sleep while I make her something warm and get the thermometer. I felt bad. We shouldn't have stayed out as long as we did yesterday. It wasn't worth it. I'd been reckless, remembering from my research that it rains a lot in Louisiana and thinking that a little rain wouldn't hurt us. I forgot about the cold. I forgot it would bother her. I forgot until I'd felt her press closer to my side and realized she was shaking, turning to find her teeth chattering and her lips blue.

I'd let her sleep in this morning and walked down the street to get us some breakfast. She was still asleep when I returned. I ate my breakfast and did research until I heard her in the bedroom, sometime after noon. "Dammit!" She cried, moaning a moment after, but not in the good way. Not in the way she did when she had her legs wrapped around my hips and I kiss the spot on her neck where I can feel her pulse beneath my lips– I stopped my mind from wandering in that direction quickly. Something was wrong. I could not afford to think like that. "Rory?" I called to her. Then she had stood in the doorway, her eyes watery and her face frustrated. "My throat," she said in a hoarse voice. "I think I'm sick."

Now I placed the thermometer, a bowl of soup, and cup of hot water with lemon and honey (something I learned from my mother, I remembered begrudgingly) on a tray and made my way into our room. We needed our own apartment, I thought. Rory whimpered and lifted her head as I shut the door quietly. She groaned as she noticed I brought food and drink, things she'd have to swallow. She threw her head back on the pillow and turned on her side stubbornly. "Rory..." I said, placing the tray on a new side table next to her side of the bed. She closed her eyes tightly and whimpered again. She fumbled with the blanket further up on her over-heated skin. I took the fabric from her and pulled it to her chin then tucked it under her. I sat on the bed next to her and placed my hand on her thigh. "You don't have to eat any yet, I still have to take your temperature," I said as I picked up the thermometer and pressed it to her lips. "Open up."

Rory parted her lips and took the object from me, placing her tongue over it and closing her lips around it. My mind began to wander again to a few days before, when Rory and I lay on this bed, those lips pressed again mine, her fingers tangling in my hair. No. I stopped myself again. Rory needed me to not think like this right now. She was miserable and needed to be taken care of. I placed my hand on her hot, flushed cheek, swiping my thumb under her eye. She closed her eyes and breathed out slowly. There was a high-pitched beep. I took the thermometer out of her mouth to check it. Her lips remained parted and her eyes closed. Her breathing was slow, as if she was already nearly asleep. I swiped my thumb over her cheek again. "Stay awake, love," I said gently. She whimpered but nodded. 37.9 degrees. I sighed. "I'll make an appointment with a doctor in a little while." She nodded again. I could tell she was so far off, she wasn't really hearing me.

I wrapped my arm around her waist and lifted her up into a sitting position. She sighed and leaned into me. Her skin was too warm for comfort. I rubbed her arm and reached over, picking the soup up. "Nooo," she moaned quietly, hiding her face in my chest.

"Come on, Rory, it's chicken broth," I said. "It'll make you feel better." She made a face and took the spoon, shoving it into her mouth. She made a strangled sound as she swallowed it. Though I felt pain for her, I couldn't help but laugh. "I've never seen you _not_ want food," I mused. She shot me a glare, but I saw the corner of her lips twitch. "I _love_ you," I said, kissing her head as she forced more soup down her throat. "You don't have to eat it all." She breathed out in relief as I took the bowl and placed it back on the tray, taking the mug up instead. "Just have a few sips of this and you're done. You can sleep."

"I don't like tea-"

"Unless its iced or you're on your period. Yes, I know. This isn't tea. Its supposed to soothe the throat. I need you to keep your fluids up. Just drink it," I said sternly. She took the cup from me and placed it to her lips, tipping her head back and drinking the warm water quickly. "Good. Thank you. See, now, that wasn't so hard."

"I'm sick," she said. "I'm not a child."

"You act like one sometimes. It can get hard to tell the difference."

Her nose scrunched up in an adorable way. "Then that makes you a pedophile, you perv." She pushed my shoulder as I laughed.

"You can sleep now," I said. "I'll go make the doctor's appointment."

"No," she said firmly. "Stay with me for right now."

"Okay." I nodded and she preceded to lay down, pulling me with her. I fell to my side of the bed and pulled her close to me, kissing the curve of her shoulder. "I'm sorry you're sick."

"Don't be," she muttered as she relaxed into me. "Not... your fault."

Of course I didn't believe that was true, considering I was the one who had remained adamant about us staying out last night, but I decided that I blamed myself enough for both of us. I buried my face in her warm neck and kissed the skin there. "Rory, I love you." My eyes squeezed tightly shut as she arched against me in a way that made my mind wander in the wrong direction again. I wondered if she was doing this on purpose. "I love you, too, Stephen." Rory took my hand and slid it off of her hip and onto her stomach, her fingers lacing through mine. I found it hard to keep my lips off of her neck, her shoulder, her ear, _her _as her breathing slowed and she finally began to snuffle quietly.

I finally pulled myself away from her, taking the tray and leaving the room. I set Rory up an appointment and grabbed my coat. There was something I needed to check on, something I figured I could accomplish while Rory slept. I found a clean sheet of paper sand scribbled down a note for Rory to find in case she woke before I got back. I may have been lying, but I didn't want her to worry. As I buttoned my coat up, I stepped back into our room and crouched next to her. I pushed Rory's hair back and kissed her forehead gently. Her skin felt like fire. I wanted to make her feel better but I didn't know how. All I could do was place a cool wash cloth on the place where my lips had just touched before I left.

I'd be back soon. She would be alright.

AN: As requested, a chapter from Stephen's POV. I know its not much, but there will be more chapters like this, and I needed this chapter for a transition. Also, to Fireworks, the thing is that I'm still hoping you'll be able to read the book and I don't really want to spoil to much so I"ll tell you this: they do get together but then they can't so they don't because 'til death do us part' and there's just a big cliff-hanger that I'm just waiting to be resolved, and Maureen Johnson just keeps trolling on Twitter and such and now apparently we have to wait until next fall for the next book. So... yeah. Anyway, I wanted to say follow me on twitter or tumblr for updates. The links are in my profile. Also, my usual drabble about reviewing. (REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!) And lastly, my other story, Enough to Smile has come to a sort of end and is on hiatus until further notice. Thank you all for reading, you're wonderful! THANK YOU REVIEWER FOR NOTICING MY MISTAKE I HOPE THIS IS CORRECT NOW! :)


	5. Bullet-holes and Wedding Bells

Bullet-holes and Wedding Bells

That stupid idiot. I was going to kill him, if he wasn't already dead, which, according to the doctors, he was not. He was just out of surgery. So, here I was in this hospital, for the second time, for this idjit, for the second time, who was possibly dying, for the second time! This should not have been happening. He should have taken me to the doctor's, sat with me while the doctor did all his doctor stuff, gone with me to get my prescription filled, and taken me home to fix me more soup while I slept some more. But, no, no, of course not. Instead, he goes off to do something that we should be doing together and gets himself shot in the process.

Go ahead, World. Put more stress on Rory. She's not sick at all.

I followed a nurse as she lead me to ICU. She snapped the curtain back and there he was. Sleeping in a hospital bed just like last time, and I didn't think I could take it. No. _No._ I would not cry over him, especially right now. I was going to wait until he was awake, and then I was going to yell at him, and then when he was healed I was going to kick his ass.

"You said you're his partner, right?" The nurse asked me. I had to pull my fist away from my mouth to reply with a quick yes. Partner, girlfriend, lover- no, actually, that word freaked me out. It felt too mushy. Partner was probably best. She nodded. "Alright, well, I'll let you have your privacy. We gave him a sedative about an hour before you arrived. He might wake up, but he'll be out of it. Someone will be in to check on him," she said as she left.

I thought of sitting, but I couldn't do that. I could not handle this well. I hit my forehead against the heel of my hand and let out a deep breath before running my fingers through my hair, pushing it back. It was cold in this room, or maybe that was my fever deciding to make a return. I had taken medicine at the doctor's. How long until it kicked in? I checked my watch. My prescription would not be ready for two hours. When would he wake up?

I had nothing to take my mind off this, no one to talk to. I tried to sit next to him and hold his hand, confirming to myself that he still had a pulse, but that gave me a serious case of deja vu, and I had to stop. I paced. Pacing was a little better. I tried to focus on the pain in my throat, the ache in my joints, the burning chill on my skin. I tried to focus on the energy buzzing in my fingertips that was sensing the death here. I focused on a ghost who passed through the room, but she only gave Stephen and I an empty glance before moving forward. I focused on the steady, high-pitched beeping that told me he was still alive. Then I focused on the "Rory?"

I turned to glare at him. He sounded groggy, but Stephen was grinning dopily at me. "Hello, sweet-heart." He never called me that. He rarely called me anything other than Rory. I breathed in sharply, quickly pulling a chair close to him.

"You _idiot. _What the hell were you thinking?"

He frowned dejectedly. "I was thinking I love you. I'm sorry. Do you not want me to call you that?"

"_What?_ I- no, not that! Christ, I mean, what the hell were you doing that got you shot?"

"Oh. Well, that man. That man was her husband. She's pregnant, Rory. Just a few months, but its his baby. His name is Michael Ross. She- he'd been really sick, Rory, she'd been slipping chemicals into his food. Have you seen _The Sixth Sense_? You should, its a really good movie, its all about this little boy who can see ghosts, like us-"

"Stephen," I said, pushing his hair away from his forehead.

"Right, well, anyway, in the movie, there's this ghosts whose mum killed her by putting cleaning chemicals in her food. Well, the same kinda thing happened with Michael. He had a really high life insurance policy. You were right, she was just a gold-digger. God, you're pretty." He lifted the hand of his good arm and touched my cheek.

"Stop it," I muttered and took his hand away from my face. "What happened?"

"Right, right. So I confronted her, and Michael was there and he kept telling me good job and that I got it right, but she knew I was going to arrest her and so she shot me. I mean, its not as if she's apposed to murder, obviously. Look at where we are. Hey... what's wrong?" Stephen squeezed my hand as he watched my facial expression change.

"You can't do that to me, you can't just gamble with your life like that, okay? I have to be with you on stuff like that. This was _our_ case, not just yours. You never know what might happen so I have to be there just in case, okay?"

He nodded, knowing it'd probably be better not to protest at the moment. "What's the damage?"

"The bullet missed an artery in your shoulder, apparently. Just barely though."

He nodded, as if this was no big deal. My eyes remained on his injured shoulder. "I was thinking about you," he said. "When I was lying there, I was thinking about you. I'm sorry, Rory, I am. I thought about how you'd be at the doctor's and I'd be dead and I just wanted to talk to you, honestly."

I nodded, and held his hand in both of mine. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I wanted to tell you how much I love you. I just wanted to keep telling you that over and over. I needed you to know."

"Why don't you tell me now?" I asked, lacing my fingers through his. "How much do you love me?"

"I don't know if I can really put it into words..."

"_Try_," I whispered.

"There... There are stars in your eyes and there's a fire in your heart. For most people, those things are unreachable, but they are always with you, and I feel... So lucky that you allow me to touch them every once in a while. I don't understand everything about you, but its almost like I do sometimes. Sometimes with you, I watch a thousand sunsets and then those sunsets are set on rewind and turn into sunrises, all the sunrises we'll watch together and all the sunsets we've watched apart.

"I'm not good at it, telling you the truth. I suspect I can do it now because I'm probably drugged, but everything I'm saying right now is one hundred percent true. I love you, and I'm not leaving you again. I can't. You've breathed life back into me so many times when that's not how it was supposed to be. I was supposed to be protecting you, but you're always the one having to save me. Now I need you, I rely on you. I don't want to scare you, though. I don't want to overwhelm you and have to watch you run away from me. I just never want to let you go. Did I mention how beautiful you are?"

I laughed and pressed my lips to his hand. "Yes. You did. Earlier."

"Well, good. I mean to tell you that all the time, I'm just afraid. I'm afraid of anything that comes next because... well, I mean... I haven't really done anything. I'm a virgin."

And I was laughing again. I was laughing at how awkward he is and how uncomfortable he looks and how he felt compelled to tell me this. "You didn't have to tell me that... But I'm glad you did."

"So am I. I think you need to know. That way when we do anything, you won't fault me for being incredibly horrible at it."

"You won't be. And how would I even know? Not like I have any experience."

"I think you'll probably know if I'm not satisfactory."

"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore," I decided. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Stephen nodded. "Did you go to the doctor?"

"Yes," I said. "I have strep. In about an hour I'll go to pick up my medicine, and then I'll come back here, and in a few days I'll be back to eating pizza like normal."

He chuckled and brought my hand to his cheek. "You should go home and get some more rest."

"I can get rest here. I want to stay here with you."

"Rory-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but its time for another dosage, Mr. Dene," a woman said politely. I turned to see a different nurse from before walking towards Stephen's bed. She began to mess with the bag that was connected to his IV. "This is going to put you to sleep again for a while. I'm sorry, I'm going to have to ask you to step out in the hall for a few moments, Mrs. Dene." She cast a quick glance at me.

My eyes grew wide. Part of me was panicking and the other part wanted to laugh. _Mrs. Dene._ "Oh, no- no, no, I'm not- I'm- I-"

"Go on, Rory," Stephen said. I looked at him. He was grinning, and his eyelids were already drooping.

I grinned back and stood. "Okay, Stephen." I leaned over and kissed his forehead, squeezing his hand once, and leaving the room.

As soon as I was out the door, I was pulled into a hug. "You alright, Rory? What about Stephen? He's alright, yeah? He's fine?" Boo pulled away, holding me at arm's length. Her make-up was slightly smudged and her eyes were watery.

"He's fine. He's okay. He's sleeping now. I'm okay, I'm just a little sick, but everything's good. Where's Callum?"

She bit her lip. "He went down to the cafeteria. He wasn't handling it very well."

"Yeah, I can understand. I wasn't either."

"Aurora, Bhuvana. How is he?" Thorpe was walking briskly towards us, Alexander, I was surprised to see, trailing behind him.

"He's alright," I sighed. "He's sleeping."

Thorpe nodded. Alex moved to hug me, but I put my hand on his chest. "Hands off, rock star. I'm sick. What's up? I thought you were in Washington."

"I was. I'm just back for a while to take care of things while Stephen's recuperating."

"What? No, come on, he's _fine._ One of us can take care of things here. He'll be back on his feet soon enough."

"Rory, Rory, calm down. We know that. It will only be for a little while. Then he'll be back in charge and I'll be back in America starting up their own group. Rory, I'm not taking his place again."

"Good," I said. I spotted Callum walking slowly towards us, but he sped up when he saw me.

"Is- how is- is he-?" Callum sputtered. I put up a hand to stop him and wearily said, "He's _fine_. They just gave him some more sedative or something, I don't really know anything about hospitals, though you think I would by now... Anyway, he told me to go home and get some sleep, which I plan on doing _after_ I get myself some soup because, God damn, I am starving. I will be back after my nap and I don't plan on leaving much after that, so y'all go on ahead and do what y'all need to do before I get back. Good night."

"I'll take you home," Callum said quickly. "I need to talk you first, actually." Boo, Thorpe, and Alex stepped into the room with Stephen as Callum and I left.

We took the train back to the flat. Callum looked nervous. His knees kept bouncing uncontrollably and he kept running his hands over his face. "Callum, what the hell is wrong with you?" I needed something to keep my eyes open. "What do you need to talk to me about?"

"I love her," he blurted.

"Boo?" He nodded. "Well, yeah. I figured you did. Have you told her?"

"Yeah. I've known her longer than you and Stephen have known each other We hooked up a few times before we were even actually together."

My eyes widened. "_Really?_" He nodded again. "Neither of you mentioned... Stephen thought... By hooked up you mean you...?"

"Yes, Boo and I both got really drunk a few times and we fucked, but there was one time we weren't drunk, just after Stephen... died. That's still so weird to say. And Stephen doesn't know anything. Neither of us has ever mentioned and we're pretty sure he's more comfortable not knowing. So, anyway, of course I told her. My point is that I _really_ want her. I want her _more than anything_." He was hinting at something, I could tell. "I want to seal the deal, tie the knot, whatever they say in Louisiana."

And oh my _god_. "You're going to _propose?_" He nodded once again, biting his lip worriedly. For the first time, I was completely speechless. "Oh my- you- Callum!" I threw my arms around him, both of us laughing as people stared.

"Yes, so I need your help. I can't do this by myself. I don't even have a ring."

"Yeah, of course I will. What the hell? Oh my god, I don't even know what to do with myself right now. This is just so... I'm so excited!" I didn't even recognize myself in that moment. I had turned into one of those girls who I always imagine were in sororities and went to Starbucks every morning.

I've only ever been to one wedding, and I was in it. It wasn't really even a wedding; it was a renewal of vows. Plus, I was five so I didn't really remember it. All I know is that my grandpa had proposed to my grandma again in the middle of a hurricane, and I was the flower girl. I walked down the aisle and accidentally went to stand next to my grandpa. My father tried to push me on over to the womens' side of the altar but I'd clung to my grandfather's leg and thrown all the excess flowers at both him and my grandma while the said their vows. According to my grandma, I'd enhanced the whole experience.

I kept smiling as my eyes began to droop. _Oh, now the medicine kicks in_, I thought. When we finally reached our stop, Callum had to practically carry me back to the apartment. "Man, I'm glad you came with me." I heard him laugh, and he set me on the couch.

I woke up a few hours later, alone in the dark apartment. "Crap," I rasped, my hand coming up to clutch my burning throat. I grabbed my coat as I headed out the door, off to get myself some drugs and visit a certain boyfriend in the hospital.

AN: Hey you guys. So I'm not exactly in the best health at the moment. Its getting colder here. I apologize for any delays. I have all my ideas planned out, Its just writing them out, plus I'm attempting to write longer chapters. By the way, Alexander is an OC who I imagined was in charge while Stephen was "off duty." (I'm still in denial.) Also, Maureen mentioned on twitter that The Shadow Cabinet should be released sometime next fall. Hey, at least we'll have The Boy in the Smoke coming in February to satisfy us or a while, right? *Laughs maniacally, which slowly turns into quiet sobs as I curl up in my sock drawer.* Also, I've revised the last few chapter. I've added some things and taken some things out. I've just changed a little bit. And who is the anon that just called me beautiful and talented? Alright, I think that's it! Farewell, my lovelies!


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